Features:

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey to Stage HENRY VIII
Broadway World
Next up on its Main Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey presents the Bard's epic pageant play Henry VIII. Centered around the tug-of-wars between church and state and husband and wife, the play culminates in the birth of England's future Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare's great patron and Henry's fierce and very female heir. Click here to read more.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey to Stage HENRY VIII
By BILL NUTT | The Daily Record
Like many people, David Foubert had an image of Henry VIII, the much-married King of England, as an obese tyrant of enormous appetites.

So when Foubert was cast in the title role of Shakespeare’s “Henry VIII,” he was not sure he was the right man for the job.

But on researching the man, Foubert came to a realization: In his younger days, Henry was active and athletic. It was not until after a jousting accident when he was 44 years old that Henry’s weight ballooned until he became the rotund figure of history. Click here to read more.

Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison presents Henry VIII, Oct. 15-Nov. 9
Independent Press
The rarely-produced history play has not appeared on The Shakespeare Theatre stage in more than 30 years. As Artistic Director Bonnie Monte explains, "I have always maintained that if a director would be willing to create a smart and very streamlined version, then the many brilliant aspects of the play could shine more brightly. After a 2012 reading of the play, director Paul Mullins took on the challenge and managed to convince me!" Click here to read more.

Reviews:

Pageantry and Sizzling Romance in ‘Henry VIII’
By MICHAEL SOMMERS | The New York Times

Arriving on Broadway in the spring will be the Royal Shakespeare Company’s much-hailed “Wolf Hall: Parts 1 & 2,” Mike Poulton’s stage adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s two popular historical novels about dark doings at the court of King Henry VIII. The production will be presented in two parts and runs almost six hours.

Some 400 years ago, Shakespeare dramatized many of the same characters and much of the same royal history in his “Henry VIII,” which currently clocks in at a relatively speedy two hours and 15 minutes in the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey’s smart staging of the play in Madison. Click here to read more.

'Henry VIII' opens at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey
By RONNI REICH | The Star Ledger
In the prologue to "Henry VIII," now onstage at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, the audience is warned that this will be no occasion to laugh at men in yellow garters like "Twelfth Night."

Neither does it compare to the psychologically probing tragedies among the Bard's most-often produced works. Its appeal is less readily apparent, and the authorship has long been in question.

The play's unconventional dramatic structure does not so much hinge on a particular conflict as tell a moral coming-of-age story with a series of sad farewells embedded, all leading up to the birth of Queen Elizabeth. Not often produced, it's not the most satisfying of theatrical experiences, even if the Shakespeare Theatre does justice to its strengths. Click here to read more.

‘Henry VIIII’ Roars into Life at Shakespeare Theatre in Madison
By LIZ KEILL | The Alternative Press
Leave it to director Paul Mullins to bring a sharp, vivid interpretation of the rarely performed “Henry VIII” to The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey stage. It’s crystal clear from the get-go that the power plays are intricate and convoluted. The dukes ‘duke it out’ (Buckingham, Norfolk and Suffolk), while the religious figures have their own ups and downs. We have Cardinal Wolsey (Philip Goodwin) being deposed and replaced by Thomas Cranmer. Cardinal Campeius is also on hand, along with various Lords and ladies. Click here to read more.

A CurtainUp New Jersey Review:
Henry VIIII
By SIMON SALTZMAN | CurtainUp
It has been twenty-nine years since the last production I saw of Henry VIII. It was here at the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey (then called New Jersey Shakespeare Festival), under the direction of its founder the late Paul Barry. Current Artistic Director Bonnie J. Monte has entrusted this rarity to director Paul Mullins and should be pleased with the result. Click here to read more.

STNJ’s “Henry” Rules
By SHERRI RASE | QOnStage
Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s (STNJ) latest production, “Henry VIII” is a trip. Imagine you were raised in a situation where whatever you said was law, yet you were surrounded by a combination of excellent counselors and utter social and political climbers–and you couldn’t easily tell the differences between the two. It was a violent time, when “off with his head” meant exactly that and could be the result of disagreement with the king. Click here to read more.

'Henry VIII':
A rarely produced play by the Bard at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey
By BOB BROWN | The Princeton Packet
THE Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, under Artistic Director Bonnie J. Monte, takes very seriously its mission to present works that deserve to be better known. Or as Ms. Monte put it on the opening night of Henry VIII, plays that are "unfairly ignored."

Shakespeare’s last work is one such case. It’s a checkered-history play that started out inauspiciously as All Is True. In the first public performance, some cannons that were used as special effects managed to set the Globe Theatre’s thatched roof aflame. The whole edifice burned to the ground within an hour. No one was injured, "only one man," as a contemporary account noted, "had his breeches set on fire, that would perhaps have broyled him, if he had not by the benefit of a provident wit, put it out with a bottle of ale." Click here to read more.

Review: Seldom-seen ‘Henry VIII’ ignites the stage in Madison
By RICHARD CARTER | Examiner.com
Saturday, Oct. 18, saw the stirring premiere of a new production of Shakespeare’s late history play “Henry VIII” staged for the first time in 30 years at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison. Director Paul Mullins, in his 22nd year with the company, led a cast of 15 in a streamlined edition of the work that omits many minor characters and lots of dialogue. With debuts in the roles of both queens, this incandescent production places “Henry VIII” squarely on the map where it belongs. Click here to read more.

A rarely seen 'Henry VIII' is now playing at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey
By KAREN NOWOSAD | Examiner.com
One of the less frequently seen of Shakespeare’s histories is “Henry VIII.” It is rarely produced in the United States and it’s been 30 years since the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey last presented it. Why is it rarely seen? Artistic Director Bonnie Monte joked at the show’s Opening Night in Madison, that perhaps it’s because it was the show that was playing when the original Old Globe Theatre burned to the ground supposedly due to a cannon being shot off. This presentation does not have any cannons to cause a fire. However, the acting from the outstanding cast in this show was powerful enough to set the evening ablaze. This is a must see show for those who enjoy seeing productions with strong acting carrying the story and for those who are in need of seeing a unique Shakespearean play. Click here to read more.

REVIEW: RARELY PERFORMED SHAKESPEAREAN PLAY GETS ROYAL TREATMENT @ STNJ
By RUTH ROSS | NJ Arts Maven
Because Henry VIII is rarely performed, there are some things you probably don't know about it. For one, William Shakespeare is not its lone author; he probably collaborated with John Fletcher on it. Too, the play was not published form 1623, seven years after Shakespeare died. And during a 1613 performance, a spark from a cannon shot off to provide sound effects ignited the Globe Theatre's thatch roof, burning the iconic building to the ground. Click here to read more.

Henry VIII at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey
By PATRICK MALEY | Exeunt Magazine
Twice this season director Paul Mullins and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey have taken chances in choosing to stage infrequently produced plays rather than opt for the safe and familiar. Mullins’ revival of Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple was a wonderful and surprising production and his take on Shakespeare’s late and very rarely produced Henry VIII is similarly successful. In both cases, Mullins makes the audience wonder why these rarities aren’t performed more often. Click here to read more.

Review: Shakespeare’s rarely produced ‘Henry VIII’ provides great theater
By RICK BUSCIGLIO | NJ Footlights
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey premiered this past weekend the fifth of its six play main stage schedule for the 2014 season, the rarely produced "Henry VIII." The play is presented in STNJ'salways impressive epic style, with sterling casting, dazzling costumes, dramatic setting, perfect mood creating music and lighting. Click here to read more.